Hidden among the very criminals I’ve built a career hunting down, I watch Ember transform. Up until now, I’ve seen the cheeky little kid I grew up with when I looked at her. The sassy astronaut who always demanded my attention.
Hanging out at Tom’s place was far better than returning home to divorcing parents tearing each other to shreds on a daily basis. Their home became my safe haven.
That brazen young girl quickly grew up, developing supple curves, shapely legs and lips so full they enticed me with each sassy barb she landed. It became a full-time job not to pay attention to every way her gorgeous body beckoned.
Watching her advance, ducking his wide swing to land a direct hit to his abdomen, I get my first glimpse of the new Ember. The one who survived six years working for the goddamn cartel and lived to tell the tale.
“Shit.”
“Talk to me,” Hyland pleads urgently. “Is Ember okay?”
“She’s going for him.”
“Fuck! Stop her!”
“I can’t do anything.”
Ember’s enraged eyes narrow into slits, her lips mashing together and limbs tensing. She dodges two of Madden’s strikes while landing her own shallow blows.
Seeing that man attempting to hit her boils my blood. I dismantled his entire operation once before. This time, I’ll shred it down to the last fucking atom and bury him alive beneath the rubble.
But Ember isn’t giving him the chance to take her down. She holds her own with practiced ease, dodging each strike and pivoting around him like they’re waltzing rather than fighting.
This person isn’t the girl I know anymore. She isn’t even the battle-hardened survivor I’ve become familiar with in recent weeks. I’m seeing 768—the asset who survived unthinkable violence she can barely speak about.
“She’s good, but she’ll never beat the Phantom,” a tattooed woman whispers on my left. “Who would dare?”
“I don’t recognise her.” The man standing next to her snickers. “Maybe she doesn’t care about showing him up.”
“Come on! Everyone knows who he is.”
Unfortunately, we do.
The Phantom is exactly that—a ghost.
When Madden manages to sweep her feet and send her plummeting to the ground, I almost break cover. Even if it’ll rain down the wrath of his organisation on my head.
How dare he touch her?
Ember lands heavily, but she braces her bent arms behind herself and flips up onto her feet before Madden can revel in the applause. Several gasps sound out all around me.
No one has time to take in the rapidly shifting power play. She’s on him in an instant, landing two firm punches to his gut before following them up with a perfect roundhouse kick.
Madden stumbles backwards, absorbing the kick with that smirk still plastered over his face. The son of a bitch isn’t just performing for the crowd, he’s actually enjoying this.
Hell, it looks like Ember is too.
They’re two flames dancing in each other’s orbit.
“As much as I agree with you, we need to play this smart. Get her out of here then deal with Madden once and for all.”
His loud exhale whooshes through my ear, his annoyance undeniable. “Be careful.”
Darting forward, Ember wipes the smirk from his face with another powerful punch, this time to the jaw. Madden’s head snaps sideways, a globule of saliva tearing from his lips.
“Go on!” I urge under my breath. “That’s my girl.”
“Are you… enjoying this?” Hyland mutters disbelievingly.
